


Force of Nature

by TipoftheLightsaber



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: A date gone wrong, Anakin should have known, F/M, If I add more chapters, eventually, learning experiences, will get dangerous
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-07-05 16:37:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15867537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TipoftheLightsaber/pseuds/TipoftheLightsaber
Summary: On the way to meet for a date, Padmé is met with a surprise.





	1. Chapter 1

Padme walks swiftly toward the fountain where she and Anakin agreed to meet. The plaza is bustling with activity and the sun shines down from overhead, making the street gleam. She locks eyes on Anakin through the crowds of foreign alien species and a grin spreads across her face. Before she can reach him her attention is drawn away by a loud cry. An alien girl comes rushing out of an alley and grips Padme’s dress shouting, _“Greechi! Greechi!”_

The girl has large eyes that are a deep purple color and wet with tears. She has a fine layer of fur on her skin that appears grey. Two small, black horns protrude from her forehead and short tousled dark hair that winds between and around them. She wears a simple blue dress that stops at her knees and has no shoes.

The girl continues to shout, repeating that same word pleadingly. Despite the language barrier, Padme can obviously tell that something has happened.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, bending down to the girl’s height.

She girl says it again and takes Padme by the hand, leading her away.

Anakin, who was waiting for Padme, starts to wonder where she is. He looks around and catches a glimpse of her walking into an alley. Concerned, Anakin gets up and races into the alley. Again, he catches a glimpse of Padme as she exits the alley, turning left.

The alien girl stops and points at two adult aliens of the same race as her, one male, one female. It’s obvious that they are the parents. They both lay on the ground, dead, with blaster burns in their chests. Padme crouches down and holds the alien girl close to herself, trying to comfort her, not minding the tears that are shed into her dress. It is then that Padme recognizes the male as someone who works in the Senate building. A pang in her gut tells her that is no coincidence.

Anakin comes up behind her and looks on at the bodies on the ground. He sees the girl clutching Padme, and the pieces fit together.

***

“You can’t keep her,” Anakin insists.

Padme snaps, “Really? And what makes you say that?”

“Kids take a lot of responsibility, trust me. I know.”

“Are you saying that I’m not responsible enough to take care of a child? I’m a _senator_. I can _take_ responsibility. Better than you I might even say.”

“Oh, so now you’re saying _I’m_ irresponsible?”

“No, I’m saying that you are sometimes a bit reckless, and that _makes_ you irresponsible. If anyone can deal with a child, it’s me.”

Suddenly, a green ball floats between the two and hovers there. The little girl runs in giggling and jumps up in the air, snatching the ball from between them, and then sends it flying to another room without even physically throwing it. Anakin can hardly believe he didn’t sense it before.

Padme and Anakin look back at each other and say simultaneously, “We have to keep the kid.”

Padme then instructs, walking toward the door, “Anakin, you need to watch over her until I return. I’m going to find C-3PO so we can hopefully get her to tell us her name.”

Padme then hurries out of the room before Anakin can protest. He sighs in defeat and goes toward the room the girl had. When he walks in, he sees her sitting on the floor rolling the ball around. She shoves it away, and then pulls it back with the Force. The ball was the only toy Padme could find right away, and she had been concerned it wasn't enough. Anakin's glad to see she's happy with it.

Anakin sits down across from the girl and asks softly, “Roll it to me?” He gestures with his hand toward the ball, trying to convey his meaning.

The girl narrows her eyes at him, deciding whether or not she should give him the ball. She concedes, considering he doesn’t really look like he’ll take it from her.

The girl pushes the ball toward Anakin, and he pushes it back with his hand. She grins and returns it. Anakin starts to add a bounce to her, which seems to delight the girl as she does the same. Anakin finds himself quite relaxed as he plays with her. Something about her just makes him want to hold her and never let go.

The two play like this for a little longer until the little girl scoops up the ball and walks over to Anakin, plopping down in his lap. For a moment, Anakin is in shock, but then his expression goes soft and he looks down at the little girl. He finds it strange how peaceful she is right now, and how she was just running and giggling shortly before. He starts to get the feeling that she is responding to his emotions, and exhibiting them.

Anakin reaches up and taps the tips of her horns. “What are these? Huh?” he asks playfully. She looks up to meet his eyes, giggling. Then she looks back to her ball. Anakin repeats his question, tapping her horns again. She whines, although not in complaint, and covers her horns with her hands. Then she looks back up at Anakin with a wide grin, although she still holds her hands over her horns. Anakin grins back softly.

A while later, Padme returns with 3PO and leads him to the child. After some short discussion, 3PO manages to get her name, that being Puluma. Now orphaned and alone, she’s a Force sensitive child in need of help.


	2. Chapter 2

Puluma wakes at Yoda’s side. She assumes he’s asleep because his eyes are closed. She looks around for Anakin, and is upset when she doesn’t see him. Ignoring the small green man, she leaves the room through the nearest exit, the navy blue cloak Padme gave her trailing several feet behind her. She walks on the balls of her feet, as she always does. As she roams the halls, she checks rooms she passes, hoping to find Anakin in one of them.

Yoda emerges from his mental Force palace and back to the real world, realizing instantly that Puluma is no longer there. Yoda could follow her through the Force, but instead, he just sits there and chuckles to himself. He knows the girl will be all right. Instead he simply reaches out to her with the Force, following her movements.

Puluma peeks around a corner. “Tappa?” Her high pitched, but soft voice calls, echoing through the hall. She scampers a short distance into the hallway and looks around. Looking up and down the walls she calls again, “ _Tappa.”_

She hears footsteps coming down the hall and knows them not to be Anakin’s strides. She gasps as irrational fear comes over her. Down the hall comes a human Jedi, and he walks casually until spotting an odd patch of blue fabric on the floor. His steps slow as he nears the fabric to investigate. He goes down on one knee to get a closer look at fabric and its direction of travel. He sees that the fabric is wrapped tightly around the doorway corner, indicating it was pulled that way.

He stays crouched, but steps around the doorway. Upon seeing his face the girl shrieks and hides her eyes, hunkering down.

“Well, surely I’m not _that_ hideous,” the Jedi comments. He then shows her his hands to reveal he means no harm. “It’s all right, my dear. I’m not here to hurt you.”

She uncurls a bit, peeking at his hands, then up at him. His blond beard shifts upward as he smiles. She still eyes him with suspicion, although she seems to sense he’s not so bad.

 _“Tappa ri’ludozi: sek pielay’ga bo rapago’d,”_ she insists.

The Jedi sighs. “Anakin would taunt me for not knowing this language.”

Suddenly the girl’s eyes light up and she bounces giddily. “Tappa?” She heard Anakin’s name.

Obi-Wan lifts a hand to stroke his beard in thought. He considers what he knows about languages, and the mind of a child.

“‘Tappa’. Is that a parent? Your mother? Or maybe your father?”

She points at him and jumps again repeating _Tappa_ multiple times. Obi wan lifts his hands, keeping them from being in the way. When she stills he asks hesitantly, “Is _Anakin_ your ‘Tappa?’”

Puluma seems unfazed that it has taken Obi-Wan this long to figure it out. She nods her head vigorously with a wide grin.

“Well, _Anakin_ is, indisposed at the moment.” She gives him an odd look. “He’s not here,” Obi-Wan emphasizes.

_“Oh. Abad don Tappa? Mekt yi’su tenz abad su ri’ritza?”_

Obi-Wan sighs in exasperation. “This is rather hopeless. I suppose the least I can do is keep track of you until he returns.”

Puluma steps forward and puts a hand on his chest. _“Yi’en be bise hai?”_ She curls all her fingers except one into a fist and pokes at his chest.

“Oh! Who am I?” The girl nods. “My name is Obi-Wan. And, yours, my dear?”

“Puluma.”

“ _Puluma_ ,” he repeats. “A lovely name.” Puluma smiles sheepishly and rocks from side to side a bit. “Puluma,” he addresses. She looks at him intently. “Do you like to draw?”

 _“Edorel?!”_ She exclaims in her own tongue, leaning forward and holding herself up on his knee. She the bounces excitedly, _“Edorel, edorel, edorel!”_

Obi-Wan replies, “Yes, yes, _edorel_. Now come along. I’m sure we’ve something to draw on around here.” He offers his hand for her to take, but much to his surprise she leaps right onto his chest wrapping her legs around his middle. He pulls her off of himself and looks her in the eyes. “All you had to do was ask.”

Puluma giggles gleefully at him and Obi-Wan simply sighs. He allows her to cling to him once more and carries her off, looking for something, anything for her to do. In the meantime, Puluma keeps herself thoroughly distracted by tracing the lines on Obi-Wan’s outfit. Along the way, Obi-Wan meets various other Jedi Masters, and greets them accordingly. None of them pay too much mind to the child at his side, and simply continue on. The only one who stops to talk to him is Master Plo.

“Hello, Obi-Wan.”

“Master Plo,” Obi-Wan replies with a nod.

“May I ask who this young one is?”

“Uh, yes. Her name is Puluma.” Puluma smiles at him. “Puluma, this is Master Plo Koon. He’s a friend.”

Plo leans a little closer to Puluma and greets softly, “Hello, young one.”

 _“Aztai!”_ she greets, stretching out a hand and touching his shoulder with two fingers.

Plo speaks to Obi-Wan, although his gaze remains fixed on the girl. “She does not speak like us.”

“From what I can tell, no. I believe she’s simply more comfortable in her native tongue.”

Plo straightens and asks hesitantly, “Is she your new. . .”

“ _Padawan_? No, no. Of course not. Especially not one so young. Much too dangerous for her. I found her, hiding, and we’re off to find something to draw on.” Obi-Wan considered mentioning her possible relation to Anakin, but dared not say anything until he was sure

Plo offers, stretching out his arms, “If you’ve other things to do, I may care for her.”

Obi-Wan pulls away a bit, surprising both himself and Master Plo by his possessiveness toward her. Obi-Wan decides to say something to soften the atmosphere. “I’m not that busy right now anyway. I’m quite all right caring for her.”

Plo straightens and dismisses himself with a nod. He then continues on with whatever he’d had in mind. Obi-Wan on the other hand sets off on his mission to find Puluma something to draw on.

* * *

Puluma quietly fills in her small drawing with color. Scattered around her on the table are others of her creations and various other things that Obi-Wan had found to keep her busy. Puluma sits upon the table itself despite the Jedi Master’s best efforts to keep her down. He had decided that it was good he at least managed to stop her from climbing up the bookshelves in the library.

“Nubs,” Anakin calls, his voice nearing on panic.

Yoda had told him that the girl was in good hands, but he didn’t trust those hands until he knew who they belonged to. Anakin turns the corner, calling her name again. As he walks past another room he looks inside, skimming over the faces of those inside and disappears from the doorway. Then, moments later he backpedals to the doorway again and turns inside, finally registering what he actually saw. A soft smile spreads across his face as he watches his girl draw peacefully, but his expression turns more inquisitive, and then amused at the other person in the room.

There, just to the left of Puluma, sleeps the great Obi-Wan Kenobi himself, napping heavily with his head on his arms and slumped over the table. The mischievousness of the girl is evident by a lock of Obi-Wan’s hair that has been dyed purple with marker and a green circle over each eye. Also it seems he became her new drying rack for drawings as his shoulders and head hold a hefty stack of drawings. From a device on the table beats classical music, obviously what hindered Puluma’s normally acute hearing when he called.

Anakin struts in with his usual stride. As he gets closer, Puluma finally hears his footsteps and looks up. Seeing him, she starts to beam and was about to call out to him, but he lifts a finger to his lips and shushes her softly. She copies his action and her smile turns playful. Now close enough to do so, Anakin leans on the table. He dips his head to Puluma’s eye level, and she shifts forward to be very close to his face, looking straight into his eyes.

“Did Obi-Wan take good care of you?” Anakin whispers.

Puluma nods saying nearly silently, _“Amey!”_ Which means yes.

“Did you have fun?”

Puluma nods again, vigorously this time, and not stopping after a reasonable amount of time. Suddenly the motion became very amusing. Anakin reaches out his gloved robotic hand and places it on her head, stopping her from bouncing any longer.

“How about we clean up Master Obi-Wan, huh?” Anakin stands upright again and turns to go around the table.

 _“Se-e-e-k,”_ she whines, reaching out and grabbing his arm, pulling it back. Anakin gives her a curious look. _“Su pahmte nozi aki”_

Anakin steps back in front of her and crouches down just enough to be level with her. He’s learned not to project stubbornness, because she seems to syphon it off and turn it back on him. Instead he replies calmly, putting out a different emotion she can’t turn back on him so easily.

 _“Ma’su pahmte sekan heneke,”_ he replies softly.

Puluma pouts at him. _“Maktas lano?”_

_“Amey.”_

Puluma frowns, sticking out her bottom lip further than before and crossing her arms. Anakin moves to the other side of the table and carefully grabs the large stack of papers.He does his best not to wake Obi-Wan, knowing very well how tiring Puluma can be. After lifting them from his mentor’s back, Anakin sets the drawings down on the table. He flips through a couple of the pages, seeing far too many drawings to take home with them.

“Puluma,” he calls, although she’s turned her back on him, still not happy, and refuses to respond. “Puluma, come grab your favorites. We’ve gotta go home now.”

Puluma turns to the pages and shuffles them all into a messy pile, clutching them to her chest. Anakin stands upright, bringing a hand up to his forehead and sighs. He peeks at Puluma from under his hand and her expression hasn’t changed.

 _“Re’en morsey kaladoto,”_ he says softly. “I love you, but you can’t take them all. Choose your favorite and let’s go.” She makes a stubborn little hmph sound and uses her feet to turn from Anakin’s gaze. He grabs her foot and uses it to steer her back toward him. "Puluma. The longer we stay here the longer it is until we get to see Kippa again."

Puluma's resolve begins to fade and her expression turns a bit sad. Anakin raises a brow ever so slightly, wondering what decision she'll make. Finally, Puluma sets down the drawings in her hands and turns to the one behind her. She carefully picks it up by a corner and hands it to Anakin. Anakin takes it with a small smile. He can't say much for her skill, but the picture is clearly labeled in her language. The drawing looks to take place in her bedroom and three figures stand in a row listed as _Kippa, me,_ and  _Tappa_. Her drawings of Padme and Anakin hold one of her hands and in Anakin's other hand is his lightsaber, the blue beam colored in with seemingly the most care.

Anakin's smile deepens. "This is really nice Puluma. Are you sure it's the only one you want to take?" She nods. " _Okay_ ," he says. He then turns her around and she giggles as she slides on the table. He lifts her up and places her on his shoulders behind his head. He looks down at the table and says, "Look at this mess, huh?"

For a moment he considers cleaning it up, and he hears Puluma give a despondent oh. He looks up at Puluma, his expression turning a bit playful. "Let's leave it for Obi-Wan to clean up."

Puluma grins at him and he turns away, leaving the room. He'd feel guilty, but then again, it's Obi-Wan.

Anakin takes Puluma back to the ship where Artoo waits. He sees them coming and chirps loudly at them.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." Anakin takes Puluma off his shoulders and she whines.

Still holding her, he hops into the ship and places her in his lap once again, heading straight back to the Senate building. He'd felt kind of bad about leaving Puluma with Yoda since he can be a bit boring at times, but felt better knowing that Obi-Wan had gotten to meet her.

Upon arriving, Anakin made quick time getting to Padme's apartment and opens the door for Puluma. As he steps inside he says, "You should be glad to hear that-"

His words are stopped when he hears sobbing and he looks up, any amusement washed from his face. Padme sits on a couch in the lounge, clutching a datapad, tears dripping down her cheeks leaving trails in her makeup. Anakin doesn't have to sense that something is wrong. So, so very wrong.

Without looking at her Anakin instructs, "Puluma, go to your room." She tries to protest, but Anakin repeats his order more sternly. "Go to your room. I'll come get you in a bit."

Puluma wants to stay, but does as she was told, going into her room. She closes the door most of the way and peers through the crack, but Anakin slides it closed the rest of the way with the Force. He had to fight with his emotions to keep from slamming it in her face. Still, Puluma doesn't try to peek again.

Anakin steps closer to Padme, and as he approaches she looks into his eyes with a deep sort of despair that seems so wrong on her face.

"We can't keep her," Padme sobs. "Puluma's family wants her back."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, not all of my chapters will be posted so frequently. Sometimes it'll be days or even weeks before I post again.

“What?” Anakin growls. “I didn’t even know she _had_ other family!”

“I know,” Padmé replies, her voice still shaking with grief.

Anakin can feel frustration boil up and his fists clench. Seeing him so upset makes Padmé choke out another sob, but Anakin seems too angry to notice.

“They never reached out _before_!”

“I know,” she says again, the two words seeming to be the only things she can speak without completely collapsing in tears again.

“If they _really_ cared they would’ve reached out sooner. Like _we_ cared.”

“I know.”

Anakin brings a hand to his forehead and paces back and forth. He stills and his hand falls from his forehead. He tips his head back and looks at the corner of the room where the walls meet the ceiling. His lips draw into a thin line.

Without looking at Padmé he asks, “Are we sure this is for real?”

The question seems to clear her mind, and Padmé is able to shove down the emotion to at least answer him.

“Yes. I checked in every way I know how. This is _real_.”

“Why did they contact us _now_ ? It’s been a _month_.”

“I-I finally got some free time. I started looking into adoption forms. A notice was sent to them, and. . . They sent a message back, insisting we give her up.”

Anakin start to pace again. “We have to do _something_.”

“We can’t. Not by any legal means. Anakin-”

Anakin sighs irritably and storms out of the apartment saying, “This _can’t_ be happening!”

Padmé calls after him, but he doesn’t listen. She sinks into the couch and places her elbows on her knees, resting her face in her hands. She allows a few more tears and sobs escape her, no more reason to hold them back.

The door to Puluma’s room opens just a hair and her purple eyes peer through the crack. “Kippa?” She calls.

Padmé looks up and sees Puluma. She becomes aware of how she must look and tries not to  show it to her girl. She reaches up and wipes the tears from her cheeks. A weak smile spreads across her lips, but she makes it as happy as she can.

“It’s okay, Little Luma. Come here.”

Puluma swings the door open wide and patters over to Padmé, climbing into her lap. Padmé smiles down at her, the expression a little stronger and warmer than before.

_“Kippa? Bise kota?”_

Padmé hates herself for doing so, but lies to the child in an attempt at comfort. “Nothing. Nothing is wrong Little Luma.”

The lie fails to deceive the child, Puluma having sensed otherwise. _“Geteno pahmte kota,”_ she insists. _“Bise pahmte ma’su?”_

“Oh, my sweet child,” Padmé pulls Puluma close, as tight as she can without making the girl uncomfortable. Puluma returns the embrace, clutching Padmé’s dress.

Quietly Puluma says in English, “I don’t wanna go, Kippa. Don’ make me go.”

Another sob escapes Padmé’s throat and she pets Puluma’s head. Then she pushes the girl away a bit and looks her in the eyes.

“You are too smart, my baby girl. Always have been.” Padmé reaches up and strokes a strand of hair from Puluma’s face, pulling it behind her little horns. “Always will be.”

Padmé pulls Puluma back into a hug, not wanting to let it end. The thought if giving her up haunts her, she doubts it will ever leave her.

* * *

Anakin stomps down the streets in the lower part of the city. Steam rises from sewer drains and almost every building around. Rodents race across the street, fighting for a scrap of food. Neon signs light up dreary looking businesses all the way from a tiny little pawn shop to a house of vices. Still Anakin hardly notices these things. In fact he hardly realized he had made it down there, and when he did, he didn’t care enough to leave. He was only left with his anger. In fact his reason for being angry was gone, and it simply lingered on him like moisture in the air.

He passes a group of less desirables, that should probably be in prison, but doesn’t even move as not to slam into one of the men’s shoulders.

“Hey!” The Rodian barks, gripping Anakin’s shoulder.

Anakin’s lips curl into a sneer and he turns quickly, his fist flying out and rendering the Rodian unconscious. He looks to the others and crack his knuckles, wearing that same sneer.

“I’ve been looking for a fight,” Anakin states with an edge on his voice. He gives a slight nod to the side as to subtly shrug. “I guess you guys’ll have to do.”

As a group the men rush at him, some of them yelling. Anakin blocks their attacks, and counters easily as first, but they start to move behind him and fighting all of them at once becomes a bit more difficult. The thought of deterring them with a flash of his lightsaber never occurs to him. The fight would be over too quick.

As he reaches for one in front of him, two grab his arms from behind and pull him to his knees. He’s too stressed and distracted to deflect them with the force. As the two hold him in place, another comes up and socks him across the face. Even long after the fist had made its impact, it felt as if it was still there, pressed against his skin.

Another approaches and deals him a similar blow, only this one puts a crack in his lip that bleeds instantly. The final of the attackers wanting to deal his share leans down and punches him in the gut. Anakin wheezes and the men let him go. He just barely catches himself on the ground with one hand, holding the other against his gut. He takes his time, trying to breathe normally again, but it’s hard and painful.

One of the men steps toward Anakin, reeling his foot back to kick him while he’s down, but instinct kicks in. In a moment Anakin reaches up with his free hand and focuses on the attacker's throat. The man starts to choke and the others shout various sounds of surprise and distress, eventually abandoning their friend.

Even after the rest had left, and the last of them was still in the grasp of his power, Anakin doesn’t let go, but presses harder. The man is lifted from the ground and claws at an invisible grasp.

“Please,” the man strains.

Suddenly Anakin’s face falls, the fire from his eyes being sucked into nonexistence at the realization of what he was doing. His mental grasp on the man fails and his hand drops, allowing his attacker to collapse to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. Anakin scoots away a bit and simply sits there, propped up against a wall. He stares down at his shaking hands, unable to believe what he was about to do without a second thought. But he _did_ have a second thought, and that was probably all that saved him. It forces him to consider the consequences of allowing himself to fall into these fits of rage, which leads him back to Padmé. And Puluma. What would happen if they stood to close? What if _they_ were to witness what he’d just done? They’d never look at him the same. Especially Puluma.

Anakin clamps his eyes shut, wishing the guilt and the sickness in his stomach at the thought to leave him, but it doesn’t. His vivid imagination keeps seeing a horrified Padmé clutching little Puluma as they gape at what Anakin has become. A seething, merciless killer.

_No_ , he thinks. _Never. For them. I have to be better. I have to consider the consequences_.

Anakin takes a breath and lets it out slowly. He does so again a few more times before moving to stand, using the wall the help him up. The man he nearly strangled is gone, nowhere in sight. Anakin closes his eyes for a moment longer before heading out the way he came, all the way back up to Padmé’s apartment. The trek gives him time to think over, and he goes over a million scenarios of how Padmé will react, what he’ll say. He opens the door slowly, expecting to use what he figures to be the best of his mental conversations.

Padmé looks at him in shock. Anakin remembers what happened, and that he probably looks quite battered. In fact, that’s how he feels inside _and_ out. Yet, as he sees Padmé’s looking on at him and sweet little Puluma’s puzzled and concerned expression, all his preplanned words seem to melt away.

Anakin looks at Padmé and the only words that escape his lips are, “I’m sorry.”

Padmé stands from the couch and walks over to him. She reaches up a hand to his cracked lip but stops herself from touching it. Then she reaches down and gently wraps her fingers around his, leading him back to the couch by the hand. He flops onto the couch, but remembers Padmé’s warning from a previous time and forces himself to sit up more. Puluma clambers onto the couch and then onto Anakin’s lap. Padmé dismisses herself to find something to clean up Anakin’s face and hands.

Puluma reaches up to Anakin’s swollen cheek, showing a lack of restraint compared to Padmé and touches it. Anakin winces lightly and Puluma’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Ma’su obrek?” she asks.

Anakin smirks and says softly, “Yes, don’t touch, _morsey kaladoto_.”

Padmé quickly returns and sits beside Anakin on the couch. She reaches up and start to dab away the blood. If it were anyone else, Anakin would push them away for fretting, but from her he doesn’t mind.

“What happened?” Padmé asks softly.

Anakin’s head droops in shame. “It was my own fault. I was being a hot-head, impulsive. . . myself.”

Padmé sighs and shakes her head slightly. She changes subject.

“Puluma spoke in English.”

Padmé looks down at Puluma with a playful smile. Puluma tries to hide her face, a little embarrassed. Anakin looks down at her.

“English? Have you been holding out this whole time?” She sniggers and hides her face further. “You little goof-ball.”

Puluma giggles for a moment, but then turns a little more serious asking, “Lanos aki?”

Anakin’s smile deepens, which pulls at the cut on his lip, but he ignores it for the sake of his girl. “No, Puluma. You can still speak in your language.”

She grins cheekily and hops off Anakin’s lap, running off elsewhere in the room. She hides the fact that she’s in fact very worried with smiles and childish antics.


	4. Chapter 4

“Puluma, put on your shoes,” Padmé instructs irritably, trying to steer the shoes onto her flailing feet. “Puluma, we can’t leave until you have them on.”

“ _Apakay_!”

Padmé sighs, her heart starting to feel even heavier. “Little Luma,” she pleads. “Don’t make this harder than it already is. _Please_.”

Puluma pouts, but her expression turns more resigned and she gives in, allowing Padmé to slip the small black flats onto her feet. Padmé then lifts Puluma by the arms and sets her on her hip. She reaches down and grabs her bag that has everything she thinks they’ll need for the long trip to the planet Notonew. She steps to the doorway of Puluma’s room, but finds herself looking back. The room is now bare, and even the bed has been stripped of its covers. It looks, once again, like it had never been used, except for the drawing of all three of them. Puluma had taped it to the wall above her bed, and fought Padmé and Anakin up and down when they tried to take it down.

Padmé feels that she may cry again, but steels herself. She needs to be strong for Puluma now. Padmé the turns her gaze down and opens the door.Anakin leans on the doorway of the apartment and looks up at Padmé as she approaches. His face still looks a bit mangled from his encounter a couple days before. At his feet sits a duffel full of the toys and clothing that they had accumulated for Puluma.

“You ready?” Anakin asks despondently.

Padmé nods. Anakin reaches down and picks up the duffel, almost feeling sick with himself for doing so. He can’t help but feel that by doing this she’s being ripped from her parents a second time.

Puluma clutches Padmé as tight as she can as they leave the apartment, heading out to her ship. The silence and solemnity of the atmosphere is akin to that of a funeral, and it might as well be. Today something in all of them dies.

Puluma offers little resistance with them until they get to the ship. Puluma pushes herself away from Padmé, falling down to the ground.

“Puluma, are you okay?” Padmé asks with concern.

 _“Sek!”_ Puluma shouts stubbornly.

Anakin steps over to grab her, but Puluma darts away. Both call after her, Anakin giving chase. Puluma is caught by strong hands and a familiar voice suggests, “It is unwise to run from your problems little one.”

Obi-Wan lifts Puluma off the ground and her feet and arms flail, trying to escape his grasp.

“Puluma, _stop_!” Anakin barks.

The girl instantly droops and looks at Anakin with pleading eyes. She doesn’t like to hear that tone.

Anakin sighs and closes the distance between he and his Master.

He takes Puluma from Obi-Wan and asks, a little hotly, “What are you _doing_ here, Obi-Wan?”

“I, uh. . . came to offer my help. And. . . say my goodbyes. I-I know I don’t have the right. This is a matter of family, but. . . I want to come with you. To see her off.” Obi-Wan looks at the ground, expecting to be rejected.

Anakin offers a weak smile, placing a hand on his Master’s shoulder. The gesture makes Obi-Wan’s eyes snap up.

“No one’s more family than you.”

Obi-Wan nods thankfully and they return to the ship together. This time Puluma doesn’t fight them. They board the ship and Anakin takes his seat as pilot. Obi-Wan joins him as the co-pilot. Padmé and Puluma remain in the common area of the ship that has a decent place to sit. With a low hum, the ships takes off into the air.

Obi-Wan looks over at Anakin, sensing his very troubled state. With the combination of the anger, the grief, and the bruises, Anakin looks like he went to hell and back, and is still unhappy about it.

“What?” Anakin asks, not truly interested, but wanting the staring to stop.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just. . . you really cared for her, didn’t you?”

Anakin’s lip curls just thinking about losing Puluma. “I _do_ care about her,” he corrects. “I always will.” Anakin side eyes his Master. “Have a problem with that?”

Obi-Wan shakes his head. He replies almost wistfully, “No. I believe I feel just the same. Though, to anyone else I’d never admit it.”

Anakin huffs. It doesn’t do much, but the thought manages to distract him for a moment and a light-hearted smirk graces his lips. His scowl quickly returns, but not as fiercely as it had been.

* * *

The flight was long, even in hyper-space, but they finally arrived on the home planet of Puluma’s people. Following planetary coordinates given by Puluma’s family, they came upon a small piece of farm land on which her people lived. It was small, and somewhat secluded. It sits nearly fifty miles from the nearest town or city.

Upon hearing the ship approaching, the residents of the farm house emerge. Each one is unique in their own way, and stand stiff at attention, waiting for the ship to land.

When the ship finally sets down, the boarding ramp drops and Padmé steps out into the blinding light, holding Puluma’s hand. Puluma locks eyes with one of the family members and she suddenly feels uncomfortable. One would think that being reunited with with those of the same blood and species would make her race to them, but she doesn’t. Instead, Puluma steps closer to Padmé, hiding from the stern faces.

Padmé waits for Anakin, who joins her shortly with Obi-Wan at his side. He stops beside her and reaches out, twisting their fingers together. Together the mottly group steps the last of the distance down the ramp. They stop on the grassy earth just beyond the ramp, examining the family members before them. The oldest among them, with long curled horns and a dark fur color steps forward. He greets Padmé first, placing two fingers on her shoulder as Puluma has done. Then he moves down the line, using the same gesture to greet Anakin and Obi-Wan. He hasn’t said a word, and Padmé is in a way thankful for it. As he goes, he takes the bags of Puluma’s things that Anakin and Obi-Wan had, draping them over one shoulder.

The elder Notonewian steps back to Puluma and extends a hand for her to take. Puluma’s hesitation is obvious, and she retreats further behind Padmé. Padmé looks down at her and offers a smile that seems contorted with all the pain and loss of the world.

“It’s okay, Puluma. This is your family. Your _real_ family.”

 _“Sek,”_ she screeches. _“Sahd pahmte sekan ree akono!”_

“Yes, they are, Puluma. You just don’t know it yet.”

Before either of them can argue further, the Notonewian man plucks Puluma from the ground, tearing her from Padmé’s grasp. Padmé tries to reach for her, but holds herself back, remembering that this is how it is supposed to happen. She turns to Anakin and grips his chest, not daring to look at the scene as Puluma’s screeches echo in the open hollow of this planet. Anakin on the other hand, watches it all. A rage bubbles up inside him that is only choked back by the presence of Padmé and Obi-Wan. Every muscle in his body wants to run and snatch Puluma from the Notonewian’s arms and take her back with him.

Puluma fights the man that holds her, trying to push away from him. When that fails, she leans over his shoulder, pleading for them to not let her go, reaching out to Anakin and Padmé.

 _“Kippa! Tappa!”_ she cries. The man holding her barks a response, telling her those aren’t her parents.

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin states. His Master looks at him, feeling so at a loss he’d doing anything his friend asked of him. “Get us moving.”

Obi-Wan nods slowly and climbs the ramp. He wants to stand as stiff as Anakin and stare as Puluma is taken away, but reminds himself of the Jedi code. He hates himself for using it to justify why he can be willing to fly away from a child that has lost so much. No emotional attachments. To dispense some of his emotion, Obi-Wan sprints to the cockpit.

The engine turns on and Puluma is sent into a panic. She pushes herself away from the man holding her with the Force and he stumbles back. Puluma falls to the ground and quickly recovers, sprinting after the ship. Padmé and Anakin are already inside and the ramp closes as she approaches. The doors close the rest of the way and Puluma watches in horror as the ship rises into the air. When the distance becomes too great for her untrained Force abilities to sense her adoptive parents, Puluma collapses to the ground and begins crying. Some of the others from the house attempt to comfort her, but she rejects them completely.


	5. Chapter 5

Myra hears distressed cries and races out from her room. As she steps outside a scene unfolds before her. A man in a dark cloak drags Puluma away, the little girl fighting him all the way. Myra races out to the man, calling for him to stop. She finally reaches him and grabs his arm, pulling him back. The man growls and an invisible force pushes her to the ground. Still, she stands again and grabs on once more.

“You cannot take her!” she shouts, an accent touching the edges of her words. “She is ours!”

The man turns to her this time, his face contorted as he looks on her irritably. “Not according to our arrangement with your _husband_ ,” Dooku spits. Shock makes Myra still completely, and her expression brings a sinister grin to Dooku’s lips. “Perhaps you should ask him what our deal was. Since it seems you were uninformed.”

Dooku jerks his arm away from Myra’s grasp and drags Puluma into his ship.

Myra can’t bring herself to move as the ship swiftly takes to the air and leaves the ground behind it. Now having a moment to process, Myra’s shock turns to anger and she races back into the house, surprising her two eldest children. Never had they seen her move with such speed and urgency. She finds her husband in the lounge area hunched over and looking pitiful.

“What have you done?” she barks at him, standing no closer to him than the doorway.

Kayern shakes his head shamefully. He doesn’t dare look at her as he answers, “We were going to lose the farm, Myra.”

“You took _money_ , for a little girl?!”

“I did what I had to!” He makes an outward gesture with his hands, hardly keeping a cool demeanor.

“A _girl_!” She emphasizes.

He turns to her now, standing, quick to defend himself. “I did it for our _family_ . We lose this farm, we lose _everything_.”

“No,” she replies. The volume of her words grow quieter, but somehow reach a more dangerous edge. “Because of _you_ , we _have_ lost everything.” Myra swiftly approaches him and points a threatening finger at him. “You had better pray, my husband, that I can amend your mistake.”

Myra marches out of the room, and the other family members fill the void of the doorway. Having heard the discussion, they look on him disdainfully, or with shame. Kayern sinks back into the couch and buries his face in his hands. The gravity of what he has done becomes more clear.

Myra contacts the ship Padme and Anakin had come in, and Obi-Wan appears on the screen.

_“Hello. . .?”_ he greets, confused.

“Are Padmé and Anakin there?”

Anakin appears on the hologram next to Obi-Wan, obviously piloting. His hand slips back to the controls after pressing a button. _“I’m here. What’s wrong?”_

Anakin’s previous sensation from the Force had warned him of something, and the call only heightened his concern.

Myra takes a deep breath. _“I apologize.”_ Her tone sends Anakin into a full panic, and he has to force himself to listen, expecting the worst. _“My husband did something. . . unforgivable. Puluma has been taken, because of a deal he made.”_ Anakin’s grip on the controls tighten and his expression turns to a scowl. _“I wish I had found out sooner. Then I could have told you not to come.”_

Obi-Wan consoles her, “It’s not your fault. I promise you, we will do everything we can to get her back.”

“When _you do_ ,” she states. _“Please let her understand that this is not what we wanted.”_

Myra signs off, the holo disappearing.

Obi-Wan observes his dear friend, noting how angry he is. He reaches over and places a comforting hand on Anakin’s shoulder.

“Anakin, we _will_ find her.” This attempt fails, so Obi-Wan takes a different approach. “You can’t find Puluma any faster by being upset about it. Besides, what would she say?”

Anakin’s anger seems to fade a bit. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, picturing his girl in his head. He remembers she wouldn’t say anything. She’d just grip his hand and look up at him with a sad look. Her touch always seemed to steal away his anger and disperse it into the Force. After it was gone she’d smile up at him. Even thinking about it seems to have a similar effect.

Anakin must’ve been smiling, because Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow and comments, “That’s the fastest I think you’ve _ever_ calmed down. Even meditation doesn’t do that much for you.”

Anakin shakes his head slightly, his smile fading as he turns his attention ahead once more.

“Meditation only makes me think about everything I’ve done wrong.” He pauses in thought for a moment before admitting, “Taking in Puluma is the only thing I really thought I did right. Now I even managed to mess _that_ up.”

Both remain silent after that. Anakin not caring to discuss it further, and Obi-Wan unsure of how to continue.

* * *

Dooku’s attention is drawn to the console of the ship by a small flashing warning light. He growls and sets the ship on autopilot once again, charging through the door to the living compartment of the ship. He glances around, but fails to see who tripped the alarm. Then he composes himself, putting his arms behind his back. He calls into the empty space, “You cannot hide _forever_ child. This is becoming tiresome.”

The ship lurches and Dooku’s scowl deepens. He reaches out to the Force with his mind, searching for the culprit. Once he does he stretches out his hand in that direction and a small yelp echoes through the vents. Sounds of struggle follow until Puluma is yanked through the opening of one of the vents.

Dooku steps over and lifts her off the ground by the arm. Puluma kicks at him, but her attempts are rather ineffective.

“Do that again and you’ll suffer the consequences.”

Puluma’s face scrunches up, responding quickly to his agitation, and sticks her tongue out at him. He drags her into the cockpit with him and latches her into the safety harness.

“Squirm out of that and I’ll tie you to it.”

Puluma frowns at him. Then she crosses her arms in front of herself and pouts. Dooku returns to his seat, but doesn’t remain there for long. His Master calls, and Dooku stands, grabbing his holodisk. Before stepping out to take the call he looks to Puluma and hisses, “Remember my warning, child.”

He steps through the automatic door and takes the call from his master. Puluma, despite his threats, has a shear determination not to be stuck with someone so angry all the time. Even Anakin isn’t that bad.

Puluma manages to wriggle out of the harness, and starts tapping on console, frantically and quickly. She wastes no time in putting what Anakin had taught her to good use. Before long warning lights are flashing in the cockpit. Dooku rushes back in and pulls Puluma away from the console abruptly. When he sees what she done he grits his teeth and takes to the controls, trying to stop the overload.

“You’re too late to reverse it,” Puluma states. “It’s gonna blow whether or not you’re in it.”

Dooku frowns and grips Puluma by the arm, dragging her to the back and tosses her into an escape pod. “I’ve had just about enough of you, _girl_.”

Puluma stretches out her hands and wills Dooku not to come inside, and much to her surprise he is shoved backwards into the wall behind him. She manages to keep a clear head long enough to close the pod and make it launch, sending her hurtling into space, away from the ship. A second pod launches, but in the opposite direction. Not long after and the ship explodes.

Dooku is called once again my his master. He pulls out the holodisk and takes it.

_“Did something go wrong?”_ he asks, suggestively, already aware that something went very wrong.

Dooku groans and replies, “The girl is. . . crafty. She managed to set the ship to self destruct.”

_“Rather ingenius. So, I take it she escaped.”_ Dooku’s silence is his reply. _“I see. Make it your priority she is retrieved.”_

“And what if she manages to stay hidden?”

The Sith Lord pauses, thinking it over for a moment, as if he hadn’t considered her escape. Finally he says, _“Then you had better pray she is not added to the ranks of the_ Jedi _.”_

The holo shuts down and Dooku is left to himself, contemplating how to get Puluma back.


	6. Chapter 6

Puluma, who had gotten picked up by a smuggler ship after escaping in the pod, was now working her way through the galaxy. Dooku never stayed too far behind her, but could never quite catch up to her. This frustrated him to no end, especially when he had better things to be doing. Still, recollecting Puluma was his mission whenever he wasn’t directing Separatist forces.

Puluma watches as the transport ship flies away. She’d been lucky to get herself on board, but it was worth the effort.

It hasn’t been very long, but already she’s taller, and her face more defined. Her fast paced growth spurt has begun, and it won’t be long before she goes from looking like a six year old to a teenager. This of course is natural for her species, but anyone else would wonder if that is the same person they saw two weeks ago.

Puluma moves on, tightening her grip on her bag. She makes for the middle of the town, taking quick steps to avoid bumping into other people. Looking around, she spots a spare parts vendor. She rushes over to it, stopping short of people in her way. When she gets there, she searches for what she needs, but makes a strained face when she doesn’t find it.

“Can I help you?” The vendor asks.

“No,” she replies softly, backing away and rejoining the crowd.

A ship roars overhead and Puluma looks up to see a small Separatist transport, and droids drop from it into the street. People scream, rushing to get out of the way. Puluma runs between a couple buildings and jumps up, using the walls to get to the rooftops. Once there she looks down to see the dry dusty street almost entirely devoid of people with the droid presence. The commander droid approaches one of the vendors, and Puluma’s sensitive hearing picks up the conversation easily.

“Hey, you.” The vendor reacts in surprise, jolting back a bit. The droid holds up a datapad with a picture of Puluma on it. “Have you seen this girl?” The droid asks.

The vendor glances down the street where he’d seen Puluma go. Then he composes himself and asks, “What’s it matter to you?”

“We have orders to apprehend her. Have you seen her?”

“She was at another vendor, but she took off. She’s long gone now.”

“Did you see where she went?”

Puluma dangles from the edge of the roof and waits patiently for a lone droid to walk under her. Just as he’s underneath her she drops down onto it, pushing it to the earth, and dust floats around it. The droid is about warn the others but she rips its head off, having to use all her might to do so. Then she takes out a knife and pries off the back panel, ripping out a modulator panel. She smiles to herself and jumps back up to the rooftops.

The commander droid groans and gestures to the others. “She’s gotta be around here somewhere. Start searching.”

The vendor insists, “I told you, she’s _long gone._ ”

The droid turns back to him. “We’ve been searching for this girl for long enough to know a lie when we hear one. You’re not the first sentient to lie to protect her.”

Puluma curses under her breath, _“Aktek.”_ The word being an equivalent to damn, just a more rude form.

Puluma puts the modulator in her bag and moves along the rooftops at a crouch. She needs to get down, because it won’t be long and they’ll deploy Vulture droids to search from above. Those are very hard to hide from.

Puluma checks the alley before dropping down, and then shuffles her way to a dumpster out behind a building. It’s someplace she hasn’t hid yet, and the droids don’t normally check. Nearly every time they track her down she has to try something new, because the droids managed to discover how she got a away the last time. They may be dumb, but this task force of droids has been chasing her for some time, and they’ve learned to adapt. Thankfully, just not as fast as she does.

Forcing herself not to react to the stench of the dumpster, Puluma focuses through to hear the droids walking by. A distant droning sound warns her of the Vulture droids she knew were coming, flying overhead. These environments are exactly why she chooses to visit them every time she goes somewhere. These small towns are populated just enough that doing a scan for biologicals would be fruitless. So, the droids have to search for her through visual means.

While inside the dumpster, Puluma pulls up a holo map she managed to obtain, not by legal means, and checks out where she should go next. The holos of planets spin in circles and Puluma marks off the ones she’s been to. She figures while she’s on the run she might as well go sightseeing. The names of the remaining planets on the map go whizzing by and she stops it at a slightly smaller one, looking over the data on the planet. _Florrum_ , she reads silently. _Home to a band of merciless pirates and smugglers._

She smiles to herself. No one would suspect someone of her age to actually _want_ to go to such a place. She may even get to stay there longer than a couple days. Give herself a chance to adjust to her rapidly growing body naturally rather than by running all the time.

Metallic footsteps draw nearer and Puluma closes the holomap, holding her breath. Judging by the footsteps, one of the droids just stopped and turned to the dumpster. Every muscle in her body tenses, but she forces herself not to move. Not just yet. She braces herself for when the lid opens up and she has to try to escape from a whole squadron of droids. That wasn’t fun for her the first time, and she doesn’t want to make it a second. She has to refrain from reaching and rubbing her knee where she’d fallen while being chased and sliced herself on a sharp rock.

Her worst fear never comes. The droid doesn’t open the dumpster, but instead runs off to see what another had found.

“She took out one of ours!” The droid shouts.

“Oh, no,” another one says in despair. “That’s the sixth one this _week_.”

The first comments, “Look how she ripped this one open.”

“Remind me again why we’re risking our necks to take her alive.”

“Because we have orders.”

“Awww.”

Puluma cautiously lifts the lid of the dumpster and looks around for the other droids. When she doesn’t see any at ground level, she peeks her head out a bit more to look up. No Vultures. She daintily swings a leg over the edge and lowers her leg until her toes touch the ground. Then she quickly swings the other leg over and gently closes the lid of the dumpster. With a smirk, she skirts away, minding the skies and sounds of metallic feet. Once she’s in a safer place than in a dumpster, she pulls out her holo again and reads over the ship listings she’d downloaded to see which ship will take her to Florrum. She’s unsurprised to find only one that supposedly is carrying, “an assortment of fruits,” which Puluma had learned was code for illegal explosives. When they are _actually_ carrying fruit, they actually list the types of fruit.

With a final glance around, she races for the landing pads and quickly finds the ship she was looking for. _The Midnight Rose_ , she reads from the side of the ship. _Cute_ . She races into a gap between a couple crates that rest on a hover-cart, thankful that for now she’s still small enough to fit. The ship crewmen activate the hover setting and push the cart, along with a couple others, up the ramp and into the ship. The droids are just now making their way to the landing pads and attempting to stop all air traffic, but _The Midnight Rose,_ along with two other ships manage to take off before the droids can stop them.

* * *

Anakin steps into the bar with absolutely no subtlety whatsoever, nor does he care. Obi-Wan is at his side, his emotions more obscure, but still ever present. All eyes watch the more obvious of the two, waiting for whatever comes next. Anakin scans the faces of the surrounding people, most of them criminals in some shape or form, but only one is his goal tonight. When he finally sees his target, he marches across the distance between the two. He doesn’t even bother to move things out of the way by hand or step around them, but instead shoves them, away with the Force, effectively scaring out most of the regulars by smashing the furniture against walls and other inanimate objects. Obi-Wan would call for him to hold himself back, but sees no point in it. Anakin is simply doing what Obi-Wan himself dearly wants to do, but has trained himself too well against.

Anakin’s target stands, looking for some way past the raging Jedi, and attempts to use the bar to run past him. Before she can even climb onto the bar, Anakin grabs her arm and twists it behind her back, then leans her over the table.

“You’re under arrest,” he growls.

“On what grounds?” The mercenary hisses.

“On the grounds that there is _evidence_ ,” Anakin presses a little harder and the mercenary winces. “That you murdered two innocent people, making an orphan of their child.”

Now Anakin may be pushing it a little far.

Obi-Wan tries to suggest, “Anakin don’t you think-”

He ignores his Master’s plea and pushes harder on the mercenary’s arm, nearing on dislocating it entirely. “Why?” He barks. “Why did you do it?”

A sinister smile spreads across the mercenary’s lips and she starts to cackle loudly with laughter. Anakin’s frown only deepens with disgust.

“Oh, you mean _her_ . I remember that job. _And_ how much I got _paid_.”

Anakin bares his teeth and turns the mercenary, ready to hit her, and then maybe Force-choke her. A firm hand appears on his arm and Obi-Wan chides softly, “Anakin, this is not the way.” Anakin tries to jerk loose, but then Obi-Wan says one word. “Puluma.”

The name, having a therapeutic effect on Anakin, makes him reconsider. After a moment his arm drops. _This is_ for _Puluma_ , he thinks. _So it has to be done how she’d want it done._ He remembers the little idealist that she was. A bit like Padme he might add.

Anakin pulls the mercenary by the arm toward the door saying, “You’re going to prison for this. For a long time.”

The mercenary only laughs, not really caring.

Obi-Wan follows after them. He has that small feeling that, despite not condoning it, vengeance for Puluma’s parents will go down like a treat. Even if it isn’t him that will escort the monster to her own personal, hopefully permanent, cage.


	7. Chapter 7

“You’re sure this is the town she contacted you from?” Obi-wan asks, examining the bleak surroundings and occasionally shifty looking character in his line of sight.

“Yes, Obi-wan. I double and triple checked it. Why?” Anakin and Obi-wan both flip the hoods of their cloaks over their heads to hide their Jedi uniforms.

“I don’t know. It just seems, a bit rough and tumble for one so young.”

Anakin searches the area for anything significant, anything that stands out, or even something just totally wrong. “She’s on the run. She’s not going to go to some nice fancy city with cameras everywhere. That’s how you get caught.”

Obi-wan approaches a vendor and asks politely, “Excuse me, I’m looking for a young girl. She’s Notonewian.” Obi-wan reaches to his pocket saying, “I have a picture if you need it.”

The vendor raises a hand to stop him and Obi-wan looks on with a startled look. The vendor replies in a gruff voice, speaking from mandibles. “I know who you’re lookin’ for, and you might as well hurry along. We told the droids we didn’t know nothin’ so I’m tellin’ you the same.”

Anakin appears beside Obi-wan, apparently having overheard the conversation. “You saw her?” He asks with hopefulness.

“I already told you, I won’t be sayin’ anything.” Anakin’s face contorts into a scowl.

“I think you misunderstand-” Obi-wan reason, but is cut off.

The vendor crosses his arm grumbling, “I think _you’re_ the one who misunderstands.”

Anakin throws back his hood and jams his finger into the counter insistently. “That little girl is my  _ daughter _ , and if you know anything about where she is, so help me, I will  _ beat _ it out of you.”

Taken aback by this statement and the look on Anakin’s face, the vendor freezes. The intensity with which Anakin had said this never leaves, and it seems he’s willing to do exactly as he said. Obi-wan lays a hand on Anakin’s shoulder.

“Perhaps we should ask someone else.”

The vendor shakes himself from his frozen state and reaches a hand to stop Obi-wan. Anakin’s gaze lifts, waiting for any response he can get. “I didn’t know she was his daughter. Please, let me help,” he says, gesturing to himself. “I thought you were sent by the Separatists like the droids.”

“And you believe us _now_?” Obi-wan questions, suspicious.

The vendor nods. “I am quite old, and have seen many people, claiming to be many things. But when a true father is looking for his child, he speaks as your friend had.”

“Then help us,” Anakin pleads.

The vendor nods. “She was here five days ago. She visited Gocci’s stand over there.” The vendor waves across to Gocci, who waves back. “Then, the droid army showed up and she disappeared. The last I saw her, she headed that way,” he points down the road, “With the crowd.” Both Jedi look where he’d pointed.

Obi-wan looks back at the mandible lipped man and compliments, “Good memory you have.”

“It would be hard to forget. The droids wanted to burn the whole town to the ground.”

“Thank you, for your help.”

The vendor nods. “If you need me again, my name is Oto Honga.”

The Jedi give respectful nods in reply and shuffle to Gocci’s parts stand.

“Hi,” Anakin greets. “You may have overheard, but we're looking for my daughter. A Notonewian. Oto said she was here five days ago.”

Gocci gives a strange smile, and Obi-wan struggles to interpret its meaning. “I’m guessing, adopted? Since you two are both human and . . .”

Obi-wan figures it out first. “Oh, no. We’re not. . . no!”

Gocci shrugs, suddenly less interested. “Hmm. . . I think. . . no, yes! No. Yes, the girl was here. She looked over what I have here, trying to find something.”

“Did she say what she was looking for?”

He pulls the word slowly from his mouth. “No. She simply looked, and left.”

Anakin looks up to the golden sky, pursing his lips, and lightly hitting the counter with his fist.

“We’ll find her,” Obi-wan comforts. “She might have left us a clue, so let’s just keep searching.”

This was a time Anakin wished his connection with Puluma were stronger. He blames himself for not training her to focus through the Force to find people. Yet, even if she could, she wouldn’t. Anakin remembers the message Puluma had sent, saying it wasn’t safe. If she thought it wasn’t safe for her to be with them, then she wouldn’t reach out. Anakin would laugh if it weren’t so saddening. If she only knew how much trouble he and Obi-wan got into, she’d know it was fine to come home. Even Padmé could take care of herself, as much as he hated to admit it.

The Jedi proceed down the street, speaking with every vendor they see, hoping for some new detail that could shed some light on where she’d gone. Every vendor has a similar response, or they hadn’t seen her at all.  Anakin was about to be sent down his whirlwind of terrible thoughts, when a sound drew him out of it. A clanging sound. Anakin turns his attention away from the road ahead, looking into an alley. There in the shadows is a dead Separatist droid, the back of it ripped open, and a beaked animal pecking at it curiously.

Anakin breaks off from Obi-wan and strides over to investigate the fallen droid. As he steps closer the animal darts off. Obi-wan quickly notices the absence at his side and turns to follow. Anakin crouches down beside the droid and tilts it with a single finger to peer inside. At the edge he notes some scrapes from a blade. On the inside are torn wires and something is missing.

“This was Puluma,” Anakin says confidently, standing upright.

“Anakin. I hate to dismiss any chance of finding her, but this is very slim. Anyone could’ve torn this droid apart.”

“No, it was Puluma.”

Obi-wan crosses his arms, deciding not to argue. “Alright, fine. But at least give me the reason you’re so sure.”

“She was planning to make something, and I was helping her figure out what she’d need before. . . all of this. The part missing from the droid, is one of the things she needed.”

“So, we can’t be too far off then.”

“We _better_ not be.”


	8. Chapter 8

Puluma wakes to the sound of marching below her. She nearly falls out of the tree she'd been sleeping in when she realizes. Down on the ground, trampling the long red grass to the ground, is the troop of droids that has been hunting her. It seems they haven't noticed her yet, but they're headed to the nearby town. She never had made it to Florrum, mostly because the pilot of the last ship she was on kicked her off for insulting his flying skills.

Puluma doesn't dare move, only watching as the forces move along. She sighs, reaching into her bag. She pulls out a metallic sphere and whispers to it, “Time for a field test I suppose.” She places the sphere against the silvery bark of the tree, and four legs pop out, holding it against the surface. “See what you can learn.”

The little robot turns its lense on her curiously, then skitters down the trunk of the tree to a lower limb, and focuses in on the troops below. It scans their weapons, and counts up their numbers. Down the path a ways, it also finds two other things. The small droid journeys down to the bottom of the tree and retracts its legs, setting itself to a fast roll through the grass. When it finally unfolds again, it peers up into the trees. It detects two others, hiding, and watching in the trees. Both human. The droid balls up once more and returns to its master.

“Did you see that?” Anakin asks.

“See what?” Obi-wan replies quietly.

“That droid.”

“Anakin, we've been following a whole _platoon_ of droids. We were bound to see at least a few.”

Anakin growls, “Not what I meant. Just follow me.”

Anakin leaps off through the trees and Obi-wan sighs before following after him. Anakin stops on a thick bough and Obi-wan lands on it beside him. Anakin leans down and presses a hand to the bark of the tree. It seems to almost whisper to him, like a hum reverberating through his hand. His eyes shoot up.

“What is it?” Anakin doesn't answer, taking a stance to jump again. Obi-wan grabs his arms, holding him back. “Anakin, answer me,” Obi-wan demands.

“It's Puluma,” Anakin says with urgency in his voice. “She was _just_ here!”

He then leaps to the next tree, this time with Obi-wan just behind him. Leaves rustle as they practically fly through the canopy and quickly find themselves at the edge of the forest, landing on solid ground for the first time in a while. Up ahead the town is in flames, and a pillar of smoke turns the sky pale. The droids have opened fire on the village trying to find Puluma.

With weight on his words, Obi-wan murmurs, “No.”

Anakin shakes his head in disbelief. “All of this, just to find Puluma. What could they possibly want with her?”

“I don't know. But we should get down there and help them. We may be able to find Puluma in that mess down there.”

“Let's go.”

With long strides, the two run side-by-side into town. The streets are complete chaos with screaming citizens and fires everywhere. Almost instantly Obi-wan sees where his help is needed, leaping straight into a burning building. Anakin however finds it harder to be so easily distracted. His mission remains the same, despite the circumstances. As he runs past it, a building collapses, and Anakin just barely leaps clear of it. He stands again and looks around, trying to find Puluma. Finally, he stills amidst the chaos, focusing through the noise. If he's as close as he thinks he is, he has to be able to find a connection now.

His eyes snap open and he's finds himself racing through the town. He leaps over debris and only extends his saber to hack apart any droid in his path. Obi-wan finally finds him again and tries to catch up to his apprentice. “Anakin!” He calls. Anakin fails to hear him.

Skidding to a stop, Anakin sees the worst thing he thinks he could ever see. Puluma, who seems so much bigger now he almost doubts his own eyes, being dragged, unconscious, onto a Separatist transport.

“PULUMA!” Anakin shouts desperately.

Dooku turns and sees the Jedi. He smirks and continues into the ship. Anakin races after it as the ramp of the ship closes, threatening to leave him behind. He wills his feet to move faster, but can't. Still he tries, hating the image of losing her again, and both times being unable to do a thing about it. There's that voice in his head that tells him to give up, it's already over. Before Anakin can reach it, the Separatist ship is in the air. He stops and watches it fly away. He takes a deep breath and yells his anger and loss up at the ship, as if it could bring her back.

His Master joins him at his side. Upon seeing the look on his friend's face, Obi-wan tries to find words of comfort. He fails, unable to even find consolation for himself.

A chirp draws Anakin's attention from the sky to the dirt as his feet. There on the ground rest the droid Puluma had made. He reaches down and gently picks up the small droid that fits easily into his hand. Remembering that he had planned to be there to make this, he mutters, “Not again. Not this time.”

Anakin races off, finding a nearby Separatist transport. He slashes through the droids filing inside, and Obi-wan follows him blindly. He carefully steps over the dismantled droids and finds his way to the cockpit, in which he finds Anakin already starting up the ship and getting it moving. Anakin continues muttering, “Not again. Not this time. Not if I can help it.”


	9. Chapter 9

Puluma stirs and her vision is blurred. She tries to sit up and look around, but a looming figure catches her eyes. Finally the edges of the figure smooths into a solid shape and she backs away fearfully. The man she hadn't seen since she was half the size stands there in the room, glowering at her.

“Hello again,  _ child _ .”

“ _ Sek _ ,” Puluma whispers, wishing she could back into the wall itself and become a part of it.

“You have brought me a great deal of trouble, trying to find you.”

Puluma's expression turns hostile, using anger to block the fear. She pulls at the restraints holding her to the wall. "You _  pagat! _ You took me from my family you  _ ento! _ ” Every profanity she knows go running through her head, wishing to be against Dooku.

Dooku pushes her into the wall behind her with a flick of his wrist. “You will learn to  _ respect _ me child!” He bellows. “One way or another.”

With a toss of his cape, Dooku exits the cell, leaving Puluma to sit alone in the dark room. She wants to cry. After everything, she just wants to break down, let it all out, because with Dooku she may not get another chance. But something finds her. It almost speaks to her, telling her just to wait. She doesn't know why, but she trusts it.

 

Anakin steps through the emergency docking port and shuffles down a long hallway, trying to avoid detection.

_ “Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?” _ Obi-wan asks over the comms.

Anakin lifts his wrist to his mouth and whispers, “I'm sure, Obi-wan. I have to do this myself. You wouldn’t understand.”

_ “I understand more than you know, Anakin. Now go get our girl back.” _

Anakin smiles and slips around a corner. He paces along slowly at a crouch, staying close to the wall. Eventually he finds a plug-in for a droid and swings a bag from his back. He pulls out Puluma’s droid and sets it down. He watches as the legs pop out once again.

“Can you gain access to this?” Anakin asks the droid. It chirps at him indignantly. “Yeah, I _know_ I’m not Puluma. But if you help me, we can save her.”

The droid chirps again and turns to the plug-in, its metal legs clinking against the floor. It stands as high as it can and a little hatch on the top of it opens, an arm extending to reach. Anakin surveys the area, expecting anything to come around the corner and spot him. After all, he wasn't exactly stealthy when approaching the ship. They know he's here.

The droid twists to look at Anakin again and chirps. “Try the detention sections.” Anakin instructs, noting the droid's complete lack of experience.

A group of battle droids rounds the corner and one of them shouts, “Hey! You're not authorized to-” the battle droid's sentence is interrupted by a lightsaber searing through its chest. “-be here,” the droid finishes, powering down. Anakin pulls the lightsaber out to the side, swinging it out to slice off another battledroid's head. The rest are just as easy to destroy, but no doubt more will be coming now.

“You might wanna hurry up little guy,” Anakin calls to Puluma's droid. He wishes R2 were here. At least he knows how Anakin works and can anticipate what he needs next.

The small droid beeps at him almost frantically that it's doing its best. A couple superdroids appear at the other end of the corridor and both grumble out, “Intruder alert.”

Anakin raises his saber and starts deflecting blasts left and right, trying to defend the little droid. Suddenly, it is gone from his side and skitters toward the super droid. “Hey, teeny, no!” Anakin barks, wondering if the droid actually has a plan or is just oblivious.

The little droid climbs up the super droid's leg and makes its way up to its head, taking full advantage of Anakin's distraction. It uses its little legs to pry open the back panel of the enemy droid and slices through the important things, causing its eyes to flicker and die. The ball droid then climbs to the dead one's head and leaps off just before it falls over, landing on the still active super droid. Teeny gives it the same treatment, only this time doesn't deactivate it. The superdroid's aim adjusts to the left and Anakin stands aside. The super droid's blasts mow down some battle droids that had appeared at the other end.

Anakin turns his gaze back to the superdroid that lowers its gun. “Teeny?” He asks inquisitively.

The little droid crawls up to the superdroid's shoulder. It uses a little leg to wave at Anakin and chirps softly. Anakin chuckles at it. “I guess you're not so bad.”

Back on topic. “Did you find her?” The droid chirps at him pleasantly. “Does it have guards?” Teeny sinks a little making a low whistle. “Of course.” Anakin throws his arms in the air. “Why would I ever think there wouldn't be? But how to get past them?”

Anakin's hand comes to rest under his chin in thought. “Wait, it’s a detention block. Does that droid have authorization to transfer prisoners?”

Teeny scrambles back behind the superdroid's head and plugs in. After a few moments it reappears and makes a little whistle. “Great,” Anakin replies, placing his lightsaber back on his belt.

 

“Hey, what's going on?” The battle droid asks.

“Prisoner transfer,” the super droid replies. “This one was caught trying to sabotage the ship.”

The battle droid scratches his head. “I received no update on the intruder.” The droid eyes Anakin suspiciously. “Show me your hands.”

Anakin smirks saying, “Sure.”

He pulls his hands in front of himself, and they meet around his lightsaber.

“Uh oh,” the droid says blandly, and Anakin chops it in half.

The next one in line shouts, “The Jedi is here!” More guards pour into the corridor as the first collapses into pieces. They fire on Anakin immediately and he deflects the blasts with his saber. At his back, Teeny turns the super droid to blast the approaching forces. As more fill in, the super droid becomes riddled with holes and is destroyed after it fires one final blast, falling to the ground in its back. Only a couple droids remain on the other side, but now Anakin has to defend himself on both fronts.

Teeny scrambles away from the super droid and climbs up one of the remaining battle droid's back.

“Woah, what's going on?” Teeny stabs a leg into the larger droid and steers it to shoot the other. “Look out!” The droid shouts. Still, the other gets blasted and then both fall to the ground, the smaller droid destroying the circuits.

Anakin pours his focus into the Force and shoves the battle droids back. Then he rushes over and slices them to pieces before they can recover.

Anakin jogs back to the door, which the little droid is already working on unlocking. After it finishes, it chirps at him.

Anakin kneels down to it. “Nice job, Teeny.” He pats the top of its little ball body. The droid whistles for him to go through the door already.

Anakin looks at the door, as if walking through it may be the hardest thing he's ever done. His little girl is one the other side, but she's older now. Bigger. For him it was only a few month she was gone, but for her, she grew in years. Physically she's probably  four years older than before, and he's not sure if he can bear it.

“Teeny, I need to do this alone.”

The droid lifts its body in surprise. Then it stands on its back legs and waves its front ones like angry arms, squeaking indignantly at him.

“Teeny, please. Just. . . find us a way off this rig. In case something goes wrong. Can you do that?”

The little droid hisses its response, but retracts its legs, rolling away.

Anakin stands and faces the door. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath. That final step forward activates the door and it slides open with a hiss. His heart stops beating and his lungs freeze upon seeing the sight inside.

Puluma lays on the bench with an arm resting on her forehead, purposely ignoring who she figures had come in, despite something that tickles her senses.

“Puluma,” Anakin breathes.

Her eyes snap open and she's upright in an instant. “Tappa,” she croaks out.

Anakin rushes to her and lifts her off the ground in his arms. He buries his face in her shoulder, hugging her a little tighter. “ _ Morsey kaladoto _ ,” he whispers. “I missed you so much.”

He sets her down and brushes a strand of hair from her face. “You've grown so much. I can't believe I missed it.” Then he pulls out his saber and cuts the restraints holding Puluma to the wall, the energy beams dying almost instantly, and he quickly replaces the saber at his side.

“Tappa,” she says, her voice soft, almost sad.

Puluma's deep purple eyes seem to long to show joy and relief, but something drowns it. Her chin starts to quiver and she turns away from him, crossing her arms.

“You have to go, Tappa.”

“What?”

She repeats herself, her voice raising, but breaking at the same time. “You have to go! You're not safe with me.” She turns back to him, throwing her arms out saying, “ _ No one _ is safe with me.” She turns inward again and sobs.

Anakin rests a hand on her shoulder. “Nubs, don't say that. It's not your fault.”

She refuses to look him in the eyes, instead staring at the floor. “You can't protect yourself from me.”

Anakin grips both of her shoulders, kneeling down to be at level with the girl, and insists, “I can protect myself from  _ anything _ .” She gives him a look of disbelief.

“Nubs, there are a lot of things you don't know about me. Maybe someday you'll learn it all. But I'll tell you my first secret.” Her expression is still contorted with agony, but turns inquisitive. “Remember the bedtime stories I told you? About the Jedi?” He doesn't need her response to know she does. Anakin stands once again and takes a steps back from her, pulling his lightsaber and holding it out to his side. “It's not just a story.” The blade of the lightsaber hisses as it extends and sends a blue glow through the dark cell. “And I  _ am _ a Jedi.”

The door opens behind him and he whirls around to face the enemies that come through, hacking them apart as swiftly as they appear. It had to be a dozen droids that poured through that door firin blasters, each one collapsing in heaps of sparking wires and metal. Puluma watches in awe, unable to even blink for fear of missing a single moment. 

The last droid is finished and Anakin reaches a hand to his daughter. “Puluma.” She looks at him as if he's some being from beyond the universe come to save her. “Will you forget your fear of losing me, and be my daughter again?”

There's a moment of silence when any word Puluma could speak would wither and die in her throat, because it was not worthy enough to be spoken. Anakin's hand remains outstretched, willing to hold there for centuries  if that's how long it would take for her to join him. Finally, she reaches up, placing her hand in his, and gripping it tight. He smiles and pulls her through the door with him.

 


	10. Chapter 10

As they walk down the corridor, Anakin uses a free hand to pull Puluma to his side and rub her arm. “We're getting out of this together. No matter what.”

Puluma smiles, more to herself than Anakin.

The two round the corner that would lead back to the ship Obi-wan is still on, but are met with hordes of droids.

Backing away and with an arm pushing his daughter behind him, Anakin shouts, “Puluma, RUN!”

She runs the other way and Anakin follows quickly after deflecting a couple blasts from one of the ddrois. The droid in charge smacks the one who had fired.

“You idiot! That's the girl Dooku wants alive. We have to use stun.”

The droids switch over their weapons and give chase.

Anakin lifts his wrist and taps the communicator. He speaks into it as he runs. “Obi-wan, we're in trouble.”

“ _Unfortunately, I'm not at all surprised_ ,” he comments rather matter-of-factly. “ _Do you have our girl?”_

“ _Yomo!_ ” Puluma practically cheers upon hearing his voice.

“‘Yomo?’” Obi-wan questions.

Anakin chuckles. “I'll explain later. Right now, escape plan.”

“ _Right. Can you get to the hangar?”_

“Probably.”

“ _I'll get there as soon as I can. Now just try to avoid getting killed.”_

“I'll do my best, Master.”

Anakin turns off his comms a directs Puluma through the ship. Each time they meet enemy droids, they attack with stun blasts, which Anakin easily deflects, but is then forced to take an alternate route. He takes notice of the use of stun instead of lethal bolts, and becomes concerned with what they wanted with his daughter.

Eventually, the two get so off course, they end up in the section with the escape pods.

With no droids in the immediate area, they take a quick breather, resting their hands on their knees and breathing heavily.

“Why. . .” Puluma asks between breaths. “Are these things. . . so _henke_?”

Anakin smiles, sometimes wondering the same thing, but then remembers some of the Republic's own ships. Although, somehow he tends to do much less running through those.

“Wait,” Anakin says, standing up straight. “Do you feel that?”

“What?”

He places a hand on her shoulder. “Focus. I know you can feel it too.”

Puluma glances at Anakin, doubting his certainty. Still, she closes her eyes and pushes out the rest of the world, becoming alone in her own mind. She finds nothing there at first, until something nags at her. She visibly shudders and opens her eyes.

A figure emerges from the shadows, and a red beam extends, illuminating his face. A second beam joins the first.

“I think you've overestimated your chances.”

“Dooku,” Anakin snarls.

Puluma steps behind Anakin and tugs on his outfit. “Tappa, the man from my _tokanigen_.”

Anakin gives her a quick glance, and in that moment Dooku lunges at him with both lightsabers. Puluma screams and Anakin quickly brings up his lightsaber to block Dooku's attack, gritting his teeth. Dooku pulls back one of the two blades and swipes at Anakin's middle. Anakin dodges too late, his opponent's saber melting through the armor and searing a terrible gash across his ribcage. Anakin hisses at the burning sensation, but holds his ground.

Puluma panics, opening up an escape pod and climbs through.

“Puluma, no!” Anakin barks, but already knows there's no stopping her.

Anakin Force-shoves Dooku back and leaps into the pod with Puluma, immediately leaning over the pilot seat to use the controls.

Just as the door closes, Dooku leaps inside and Anakin quickly turns to block again as Dooku brings his sabers down on him. Anakin dares to look away, calling his daughter's name urgently.

“Puluma!”

“I'm trying!” She shouts back, struggling with the controls.

Dooku tries to attack again, swinging both sabers at him from the side. Anakin deflects his attacks, taking a swipe of his own. There's no room to go back, and no room to push Dooku away. The lightsabers swing wildly in the small space, and almost every time Anakin deflects a blow it cuts into the walls of the escape pod, threatening to make it unsafe.

Finally, the pod releases and shoots away from the ship, unbalancing the two fighters. Anakin falls to his back and Dooku stands over him, his blades crossed and aimed at Anakin's throat.

“Give her up, now.”

Puluma peers around the seat and gasps. She turns and pulls at the controls making the pod lurch upward. Dooku loses his balance once again and stumbles back, still managing to catch himself.

Anakin stands and lashes out at Dooku, trying to catch his opponent with his guard down. Dooku swipes up with one of his blades, steering Anakin's saber into the wall of the pod. It severs some wiring and all the power goes out. Their sabers are now the only guide in the dark space.

“Tappa!” Puluma cries out.

Anakin barks, “It's not my fault!”

He brings the blade to his side, the tip pointed at the floor, and then makes an upward swipe at Dooku. The Sith jumps back, bumping into the hatch. Anakin takes a quick moment to pull his communicator from his wrist and tosses it to Puluma. It clatters against the ground by her seat, the flashing yellow light being the only guide to its location.

“See what Obi-wan wants,” he instructs her.

He wastes no time engaging Dooku once again, cutting more gashes into the pod.

Puluma finally gets a firm grip on the communicator and answers the call.

 _“Anakin, where are you?”_ Obi-wan questions.

“We're in an escape pod!” Puluma shouts.

For a moment there's silence.

_“I'll get there as fast as I can, my dear. Is Anakin alright?”_

“He's fighting Dooku,” she replies, distress in her tone.

_“Alright, I'm coming. Tell Anakin I'm doing a scoop.”_

“A scoop?!” Anakin shouts, having heard. “You need a crew do do a scoop. Or a different ship.”

Dooku catches Anakin in his distracted state and steers his sabers into the Jedi's left shoulder. Anakin cries out and falls back against the pilot seat. Puluma reaches around it, calling out to him and tentatively prods the cut.

Anakin grits his teeth, bringing himself to stand. He faces Dooku once again. The Sith himself seems all too patient, more than happy to make Anakin's defeat last as long as possible.

 

Obi-wan steers the ship this way and that, wishing that this ship was more like his Jedi issued one. Fast and agile- great for a tight situation. Still, he has to make do with what he has, not really able to switch right now.

The Vulture droids are persistent, making life difficult. Obi-wan finds that the only time he can get them to stop firing is when he brings their aim a little closer to the command ship than one might deem safe.

Something appears in front on his ship and Obi-wan stares in shock. “What, the-  _?_ ”

 

Anakin turns his saber off and darkness encompasses him, the glow from Dooku's crimson sabers not reaching far enough to reveal his opponent's frame.

Dooku senses Anakin's approach and swipes high with one saber, which Anakin ducks, and then swipes back the other way with both. Anakin easily hops over them and then slams into Dooku with his right shoulder, pushing the Sith into the hatch. He knocks the lightsabers from his opponent's hands, and the beams deactivate. Now the whole pod is black.

Both fighters rely solely on the Force to find each other in the dark. Anakin powers through the pain in his shoulder to attack Dooku with flying fists. Dooku is faster with his blades than he is with his hands, which Anakin takes advantage of, striking quick and hard. He could've sworn he heard something crack.

Dooku grips his ribcage with one hand and finds Anakin's shoulder wounds with the Force, applying pressure. Anakin cries out again, brought to the ground, now on his knees.

Dooku reaches out with his other hand, pain making it hard. He finds one of the sabers and pulls it to his hand. He is _more_ than satisfied to find a red beam extend from it. Dooku sneers as he lifts the saber. Anakin is almost too easy to pick off now.

Anakin manages to look up just as Dooku raises the saber to the appropriate height and Anakin looks away as it descends, regretting that what he told Puluma would now be a lie. _I_ can't _protect myself from anything_.

He closes his eyes when he can feel the heat on his face, but that is where it stops. His own lightsaber, glowing blue as ever, shines just above him, protecting him. Dooku seems as surprised as Anakin is.

Puluma struggles under the strength of the Sith Lord, her own was just barely enough to stop him. He angles his own weapon to burn into her arm. She breathes through her teeth with the effort it takes to push him back. Puluma tilts Anakin's lightsaber at an angle that causes Dooku's to slide down the length. As Dooku's blade turns downward she spins the one in hers to keep Dooku's saber from harming her. The tip of his blade slices into the floor as Puluma directs it into a full circle and cuts the Sith Lord's leg on the way around.

Dooku falls back, hissing and gripping his leg.

A ship latches onto the pod and pulls it along until it finds gravity and lands on something flat and metal.

Anakin rises to his feet and gently takes his lightsaber from Puluma's hand. Both look on at Dooku, just waiting for him to make a move.

Finally he says, “You have no idea what you have begun.”

He uses the Force to pull his other saber to himself. He makes large swipes with the blades to cut himself an exit from the pod and dives through it. Light floods in, and after the complete darkness, both Anakin and Puluma are blinded to the point of having to lift their arms to shield their eyes.

The two step out, blinking at the bright cargo bay of another ship. Dooku is nowhere to be seen. Already gone.

 _“I just registered an escape pod detaching.”_ Obi-wan announces over the intercom. _“_ Please _don't tell me I saved you from one just for you to end up in another.”_

Anakin walks over to a small screen and presses a button to reply. “No, that was probably Dooku.” He looks at Puluma who grins at him. “We're safe and sound.”

Obi-wan breathes a sigh of relief. _“Thank the Force. And you're both alright? If you were in that pod with Dooku, I highly doubt you sat and chatted over tea.”_

“A little damaged, but we're alright. This rig have a medical bay?”

 _“Unfortunately, no.”_ Anakin lets out a long breath, hanging his head. _It figures somehow._ _“If you'll recall, this was built for a_ droid _army. Not_ people _.”_

“I guess it'll have to wait until we get back to our ship.”

_“Right. I'll have Teeny latch on before we go.”_

“Latch on? What do you mean ‘have Teeny latch on?’”

Obi-wan chuckles. _“You'll see eventually I suppose.”_

Obi-wan signs off, leaving Anakin and Puluma with only each other for company.

“Teeny?” She asks, looking up at Anakin.

“Yeah. Your little droid.”

“He's with you?!” She nearly jumps in the air.

Anakin smiles. “Of course. We couldn't leave him behind. Besides, he saved my life.”

Puluma latches onto Anakin, thanking him. For everything. Anakin smiles and places a hand on the back of her head lovingly.

She's so much taller now, able to wrap her arms around him just above the waist. Before, she was about at his knees. Despite the protest of his arm, Anakin can't keep himself from lifting her into the air like he always has and hug her close, keeping her there. He can't shake the feeling that the moment he lets go, he'll wake up and realize it was all just a dream.

**Author's Note:**

> Star Wars: Clone Wars is not mine, as I would hope most know. Feel free to comment or suggest things. Don't hate on me too hard, this is my first story I've posted.


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